What is the natural system of nature (biology)

Since the ancient period of history, a man has tried to penetrate the principles of building the surrounding world and to find an answer to the question of what is the natural system of nature. He understood - the world is harmonious and arranged according to certain laws. Consider the most important for biological science systems of the organic world, created during the historical development of human society.

The first natural classification of living organisms

It was proposed by the Greek scientist - the father of biology - by Aristotle. Applying the method of comparing morphological and anatomical features, he created a classification of animals and laid the foundation for future biological discipline - systematics. Aristotle's answer to the question of what is the natural system of nature, sounded as follows: the world around consists of two kingdoms - inanimate and living nature. The latter, in turn, is built hierarchically: from plants to animals and then to humans.

Kind - an elementary taxon in biology

We continue to find answers to the question, what is the natural system of nature. In biology, the definition of a given structure of the surrounding world is the following: it is a chronologically ordered designation of extinct and existing living organisms, and their distribution along hierarchically related and subordinate taxa - classification units. The first of these is the view. It serves as the cornerstone of modern taxonomy.

The Linnean system of the organic world

It was formulated in 1735 in the famous work "The System of Nature". Carl Linnaeus, confirming the research of D. Ray and Buffon, for the classification unit takes the form. Being a creationist, he believes that the species are permanent and unchanging. The scientist proposes a binary nomenclature, according to which each living organism is given a name consisting of two words, for example: a reasonable person, a skilled man, a buttercup, etc. Until now, all biologists use binary names of biological species, and the natural system of nature is a complex formation , The elements of which are interrelated, that is, they are subsystems.

The gradation of the organic world proposed by K. Linnaeus was appropriate. It included the kingdoms: Plants, Animals and Minerals, which in turn were divided into subordinate units - species, genera, detachments. For example: the kingdom of the plant was divided into 24 classes, and those - into 116 orders on the basis of the structure of the gametophyte and the organs of reproduction - archegonies and antheridia.

The natural system of nature and catastrophe theory

Outstanding French naturalist J. Cuvier in the early 19 th century engaged in research in the field of comparative anatomy and paleontology. These facts enabled the scientist to express thoughts that, subsequently, were placed in the basis of his own theory, answering the question "what is the natural system of nature". The short answer will be this: it is a subordinate structure, built on the principle of gradation, consisting of organisms that are different in structure and life processes.

Fossil remains served as proof of the fact that there are no transitional forms between extinct organisms and modern species. Cuvier and his followers believed the cause of the extinction of whole groups of animals, for example, giant zverozuby lizards, considered cyclic geological catastrophes, shaking the Earth. However, scientists who adhere to evolutionary views, criticized the teachings of Cuvier. Finally, disagreements between biologists disappeared in connection with the appearance of the works of Charles Darwin and A. Woeless concerning the origin of biological species.

The evolutionary hypothesis of Lamarck

French scientist J.-B. Lamarck at the beginning of the 19th century was the first to oppose the evolutionary approach to the creation of a natural system of nature by the prevailing ideas of creationism at that time. He wrote a multivolume work "Flora of France", developed a system of classification of invertebrate animals, used so far. He, along with Treviranus, proposed the term "biology". In his book The Philosophy of Zoology, Lamarck explains what a natural system of nature is, relying on the notion that living organisms acquire useful adaptations as a result of the influence of environmental conditions.

Speaking modern biological language, the main driving force of the evolution of nature Lamarck considered non-hereditary - modification variability. Moreover, it was Lamarck who placed man in the evolutionary tree of primates, and he represented the process of nature development in the form of complicating the organization of living beings by gradation.

Darwinism - theory or hypothesis?

The fundamental concept, what is the natural system of nature, the definition of which was treated differently by different currents in biology in different ways, was given in Darwin's work "The Origin of Species by Natural Selection". Since 1859, a new period has begun in the development of natural science disciplines. The natural system of nature began to be considered in the form of a classification reflecting the gradual change in species, genera and whole classes of living organisms under the influence of hereditary variability and natural selection.

In the ideas expressed by Charles Darwin, two components are traced: the first is the doctrine of evolutionary material and the second is the doctrine of the driving forces of evolution. Darwin distinguished three forms of struggle for existence, which is the basis of natural selection: intraspecific, interspecies and the fight against adverse abiotic factors. Natural selection ensures the preservation of species that are most adapted to the specific conditions of their habitat. Hereditary variability selectively selects individuals who have received new mutations due to mutations, giving the species an advantage in survival. Classical Darwinism at the present time is a complete system of evolutionary views on the development of living nature.

Synthetic hypothesis of evolution

Further genetic studies conducted in the mid-20th century provided the basis for the creation of a synthetic hypothesis of evolution that answered the question of what a natural system of nature is in biology. The summary of it consists in the following - the diversity of species has a regulated structure based on the principle of subordination (hierarchy) of various taxa: species, genera, families, orders (or orders), classes, divisions (or types).

Any organism living on the Earth, consistently belongs to all the above classification units, formed due to microevolution and macroevolution. In the curriculum study, what is the natural system of nature in biology. The 9th class is devoted to the study of the driving factors of evolution - hereditary variability and natural selection. The synthetic hypothesis of evolution is considered in the course of biology of the 10th grade, when the students are already familiar with the concepts and laws of genetics.

Levels of organization of life

They are also a natural system of nature, representing 7 hierarchically co-ordinated levels of building open biosystems. Let's call them: molecular, cellular, organo-tissue, organism, population-species, biogeocenotic, biospheric.

The study of the phenomenon of life at each level is carried out by various biological disciplines. For example, molecular studies biochemistry and molecular biology. Cellular - cytology, biogeocenosis and biosphere - systematics, comparative anatomy, ecology, etc. All without exception living objects - man, plant, animals, bacteria - can be considered at each stage, starting from the molecules that make up the cell organelles, and Ending with a global structure - the biosphere. It carries out cycles of the transformation of substances and energy in open biological systems.